Valentin Hasse-Clot: « The World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are like the Holy Grail »

This is your second participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What did you take away from the first one, in 2023?

My first was very special because it was the centenary. And the centenary was something. For me, Le Mans is an obsession since I was very young. My first participation in Le Mans was a sort of realization because as a kid, I always dreamed of the 24 Hours of Le Mans before dreaming of F1.

Since I was six years old, I’ve been with the Pescarolo Sport team. Henri is clearly my mentor. He’s a friend of my grandfather’s, and I grew up with Pescarolo Sport and posters of (Sébastien) Bourdais in my room. Later on, I attended the autosport academy, went to Le Mans Sud high school, and I grew up a bit at Le Mans, on the circuit.

Was there extra pressure knowing it was the last year for the GTE, thinking: we need to shine for this final stand?

No, not at all. After all, there is no good or bad Le Mans to win. But this edition was special, it was the centenary, it was the last of the GTE. I was racing with my two French friends (Maxime and Arnold Robin). We had number 72. We made a livery as a tribute to Pescarolo and Matra… So all this made it a special edition for us.

Athletically, we did our best. We did everything correctly up until Arnold’s accident just before nightfall. But we were having a good race until then.

How important was Henri Pescarolo in your career?

Henri, more than just direct help, made me dream, he nourished my passion. He made me dream all those years when he had his team in LMP1. He allowed me to fulfill this passion by meeting the drivers, by touching the cars. I knew I wanted to be a driver thanks to him.

To be in the WEC today is a sort of realization, knowing that earlier, you couldn’t finish certain seasons due to lack of financial support.

Arriving in the world championship is not an end in itself. But getting there as an official Aston Martin driver, that for me, is… I would never have reached the WEC without that. Anyway, I didn’t have the money. So arriving with this status is very special for me. And I feel like I’ve had a journey full of obstacles. But at the same time, there are no paths that have unfolded in a very straightforward manner.

I don’t have a story that’s particular compared to others. We’ve all struggled at our own level. But it’s true, it hasn’t been easy. In my profession, the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are a bit like the Holy Grail.

You’ve been driving this Aston Martin GT3 for a long time. Does it still hold any secrets for you?

No, I believe I know her very well. I’ve been driving it for six years in its 2019 version, GTE, LMGT3 2024 or 2025. Certainly, it has evolved, and I’ve evolved in different categories, but it’s been six years since I’ve touched anything other than an Aston Martin Vantage. I’ve driven for more than twenty different Aston Martin customer teams in about fifteen championships: from WEC to ELMS to GT World Challenge, GT4 France… All this makes this car my office.

This year, with more than twenty race weeks across four different championships, it helps.

Does participating in several championships allow you to keep up the pace rather than using a simulator?

I don’t like the simulator. I do fifteen laps to get back into it, it’s less than an hour. I’m not a simguy. I have other passions besides motorsport.

Anyway, it’s quite hard to fit simulator time into my schedule. I’m starting with the 24 Hours of Le Mans followed by five consecutive weeks of racing: I have Le Mans, IMSA next week, the 24 Hours of Spa, ELMS, and WEC in Brazil. And I don’t go back home between them.

Stringing together so many races in such a short time, how does one prepare mentally and physically to endure?

It’s one of my passions, preparation. I love it, the more prepared I am, the better I feel mentally. The more I can handle jet lag and fatigue. So, that’s my way of preparing. It may seem trivial, but some drivers don’t prepare. I don’t know how they do it.

I have a good environment at home. I have a wife who supports me. She shares my passion. She works with me in event planning. We were separated last year, we never saw each other. This year, we have a box where we host 80 people per day, so we work in the same paddock. We experience the same things. It also helps me to have fewer worries.

You are racing with two rookies at Le Mans. Derek has more experience than Eduardo. But what advice could you give them for driving at night?

More than the night, I told Eduardo, and I mean it, that he is one of the most talented Silver drivers I’ve raced with. He has exceptional talent. The guy doesn’t even need to work. I told him not to overdo it.

We saw at Spa, he was very aggressive and he knows it. It cost us a podium. We had penalties. The contact with the McLaren was not necessary. I told him, “You asked me what you needed to improve? Well, Spa…” In endurance racing, we fight for the team and not for personal reasons.

He comes from stock car racing where if you take a hit, you give it back. But in endurance, no, because then it’s a flat tire and a penalty. We lose the podium when we should be finishing second or third. This kind of driving over 24 hours, you don’t finish. But he’s a young driver, full of talent. He doesn’t need to prove himself anymore.

We knew that the day we moved to hyperpole, he would put the car on pole or the front row. At Spa, we didn’t give him new tires in practice; we gave them to Derek to make sure he would place us in hyperpole.

For Eduardo, who had only two races in GT in his career, it’s impressive.

You’ve been driving with Derek for a long time, and you’ve been able to create a friendship.

Very strong, too strong. We almost go on vacation together. It’s hard because afterwards in the debrief, you have to be sincere, you have to say things to each other. It’s delicate to say certain things to each other.

I always told him, “You have two options: either I treat you like a client, an amateur driver, a VIP, and we don’t tell each other things. Or, I treat you like a pro driver and a friend, and I will always tell you the truth, but it might hurt your ego.” He chose the second option. We tell each other things, sometimes it hurts, we don’t agree, but…

It shows his willingness to work, to progress, and to make a difference compared to other bronze drivers.

Sometimes he performs, other times not. But what I can’t take away from him is that he always gives it his all. He doesn’t have the chance to race in another championship. On the grid, he must be one of the only two who only do the WEC, without side testing. We start from scratch every weekend and we know there is little testing.

So putting the car in hyperpole at Spa was fantastic. He is not fighting with the same tools as the others.

What are your impressions during the test day?

Le Mans is quite a piece. On Sunday, I told the drivers that the track was dirty, that it would gain grip over the days. There was no objective for lap times or performance. It was just about completing the mandatory ten laps, having a smile, enjoying themselves without worrying about track limits.

I am very satisfied with the day. There were no errors.